Ford's Futurist Says These Massive Trends Will Define 2013

It takes Ford three years to bring a car to
market. They constantly have to be ahead of the curve, and even
have a department in the company focused on trends and futuring
to make sure they're not just reacting to what other automakers
do.

According to Sheryl Connolly, manager of Ford Global Trends and
Futuring, it's about changing the conversation and the way the
company plans.

"My work is specifically designed to look outside the automotive
industry. I look at big picture global trends in the social,
technological, economic, and political arenas," Connolly said.
"As a futurist my role is to remind people that when we make a
strategy or put together long term plans, we do it on a set of
assumptions on how we think the future's going to play out. So my
job is to remind people that we need to pause and examine those
underlying assumptions and question whether they're wrong."

For the first time, Ford's releasing a report on the 13 trends
they think are going to define the consumer environment next
year. Here are a few highlights:

"Trust is the new black"

Trust has been hard to come by in the past few years, especially
in institutions. Overall trust in brands is down 50 percent over
the last decade. Since it's so scarce, it's going to be more
valuable than ever to brands that can actually build it.

The engaged consumer

There's a new metric of political and social engagement beyond
volunteering, donating, or voting. It's how you consume. 65
percent of people think they can change corporate behavior by
supporting responsible companies. More engaged consumers are
going to hold companies increasingly accountable.

Honesty is better than perfection

People are increasingly suspicious of things that are overly
processed, that appear perfect on the surface but really aren't.
At the same time, they value companies that actually admit and
try to fix their flaws and mistakes rather than glossing over
them.

The end of the scripted career

There used to be a standard pathway to success. Work hard, go to
school and so on. The rise of the internet and the decline of
some of those structures means more people are founding startups,
freelancing, and skipping college. 91 percent of millennials
expect to stay at a job for less than 3 years.

Building your own feedback

There's an increasing realization that in real life, people don't
force you to do anything. More and more, people are learning to
get feedback and data on everything from exercise to personal
finance, and building their own rewards and punishments to keep
themselves on track.

For Ford, it's about providing real time data that helps drivers
become more efficient.

More intimate cities

The largest cities in America are growing more rapidly than their
suburbs. People value an array of opportunities and connection
over space and anonymity, and are creating what Connolly calls
"small town values" and intimate interactions in big
cities.

Choking back information overload

As constant connectivity and the amount of information get
overwhelming, services and brands that remove some of that
clutter, offer the chance to disconnect, and give consumers some
space will be in increasing demand.

Quality over quantity

Driven by environmental, economic, and social concerns, people
want more out of everything they buy. That will come through not
just in what they purchase, but how as well, with more bartering,
renting, and swapping.